Fade Into View
by thesunsetshigh
Summary: Lexa knows complicated, but she also knows a decent deal when she sees one. So when she meets Clarke Griffin again for her sister-in-law's bachelorette party, she's hardly one to turn down an easy night of carefree enjoyment, nor the next night either. Except of course, it's never that easy.


Bachelorette parties aren't Lexa's thing.

At all.

But Octavia had batted her eyelashes and asked very nicely, and as Lincoln's sister it wasn't very appropriate for Lexa to decline her future sister in law.

And that is why Lexa now sits in what can only be described as one of the dodgiest bars in the United States of America, waiting for Octavia's friends to turn up. Lexa had been greeted by the maid of honour, Raven, who had been kind enough, but the woman is busy chatting to another of Octavia's friends and is also already slightly drunk.

Lexa is not drunk.

More to the point, Lexa is not drunk enough to make meaningless conversations with people she only has one mutual friend with.

A drink is passed to her from across the bar and Lexa can recognise the liquid as beer, but the drink smells closer to cat piss than Lexa would like to admit. Bringing it nearer to her face is not on her agenda.

More of Octavia's friends turn up, and Raven, balancing precariously on a chair so that she can attract the attention of the group, suggests they make their way to the limo waiting outside. Lexa stands and takes in the small group of women and sighs herself. She can acknowledge that she's not the most entertaining person when she's with people she would consider her friends, but with strangers she's even worse. She takes her jacket off the chair besides her anyway and follows the women outside. At least they're leaving the bar.

Lexa counts four women piling into the limousine in front of her, and Raven is behind her as she sits down and slides along the seat to make space. It takes Raven longer than the others to get into the limousine, but Lexa looks away. She had watched the girl limp earlier, and Lexa wasn't one to judge. Instead, she turns her eyes to her own hands sitting in her lap. She can still see the tan line that marked the ring she had once worn so proudly on her finger, and she laughs to herself.

Raven tells their driver an address which Lexa vaguely recognises as the posher part of town and the limo takes off. She doesn't look back at the bar because she may not know what to expect of the night, but honestly she's quite glad that it won't be spent there.

In her pocket her phone buzzes with a text and she considers how rude it would appear to read it now. Then she looks up and sees that all the other women are quite happy chattering away with themselves - and besides, Lexa is far above caring what strangers think of her these days. So she pulls the phone from her pocket and reads. It's just work - it always is.

The limo pulls to a stop and the door flings open. Raven peers up at the newcomers. "Well, what are you waiting for?" Raven asks. "Get in losers!"

Lexa watches as Octavia climbs into the limousine, wearing dangerously high heels and her hair in a braid that could rival her own. "Lexa," Octavia smiles, "I'm really glad you could make it!"

Nodding in response, Lexa misses the other 'loser' get in, but a knee brushes hers gently as they sit themselves in the only space directly opposite Lexa.

The brunette glances up at the contact, and the woman sitting there is blonde and blue-eyed and staring right at her.

"Clarke," Lexa begins quietly when the limo starts driving again and the other woman go back to talking amongst themselves. "We meet again."

The blonde offers Lexa a smile which is more of a smirk and opens her mouth to respond, but is interrupted by Raven's cry of 'listen up dickheads'. Clarke sighs and tears her gaze away from Lexa to listen to her friends obligingly.

"We are in for a night of Reyes standard fun, which means tomorrow we won't remember a thing," Raven declares, waving a small glass of champagne in the air as she speaks. "And you all know me, I'm not for that bonding, pampering shit."

Some of the girls laugh, Lexa sees Clarke chuckling from out of the corner of her eye.

"So put your shirts on ladies," Raven continues as she passes out shirts from a bag beneath her. Each has an individual name printed onto the back. " And get your foam penises out of this bag."

Lexa rolls her eyes because this group is clearly going to be one of those groups, but takes the shirt anyway. It's black and red, and marked with 'The 100'. On the back, 'Commander' spreads the space between the two sleeves.

"Obviously we don't know you very well Lexa," Octavia explains. "But we asked Lincoln what to put on your shirt."

Lexa looks to Octavia, somewhat surprised by the thoughtfulness. She laughs at the sentiment. "This is great," she thanks.

"We're just going to assume it's not anything to do with a sex position," jokes Clarke, catching Lexa's eyes. The smirk is back on the blonde's face and Lexa almost shows her surprise.

"Yeah, because Lincoln knowing that would be weird," pipes up Raven. "You know, being your brother and all."

Lexa shakes her head and pulls her gaze away from Clarke. "I wanted to be a Commander when I was younger," she states with a shrug. "So that I could stop my dad from moving us from state to state each two months."

Octavia sobers up and nods, "Lincoln told us about him."

"Yeah," replies Lexa, because she didn't really have anything left to say about it. They didn't move around anymore, because it's difficult to go on tour when you're not actually alive.

She looks up when Clarke nudges her knee gently. "He seemed like a great man."

Lexa swallows and clenches her jaw. "He was," she nods, then looks away at the shirt in her hands. When she glances up at Clarke a minute later, the blonde is looking carefully at her. The others have gone back to their conversations.

"You don't need a foam penis to have a good time tonight Lexa," Clarke tells her. Lexa raises an eyebrow. "They're just to remind Octavia how sheltered she was when she grew up."

Lexa nods and smiles, and this time it's Clarke who looks away.

"So what about you then?" asks Lexa, gesturing down at the shirt in Clarke's lap. "'Princess'?"

"Because Clarke is a privileged bitch!" declares Raven, who high fives Octavia before both girls burst into a laughing fit. Lexa looks at Clarke for an explanation.

The blonde shrugs, eyes twinkling with amusement. "They think I've had an easy life, because I got to go to college."

"I would hope," starts Lexa, "that you went to more than just college, seeing as you're who treated my shoulder." She tilts her head at the blonde. "Doctor Griffin," she adds.

"I thought I told you to call me Clarke."

"That's hardly protocol."

"Oh believe me Lexa," calls Raven, "our Clarke knows how to break protocol."

The blonde sighs, and Octavia swats Raven's knee. "It's complicated," shrugs the blonde.

Lexa nods. "I know complicated."


End file.
